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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



GROWING STRAWBERRIES IN HILLS. 



By F. M. Shermax. 



Wlien I say that strawberies will be at their best only 

 wheii grown in hills, I know there will be many who will 

 disagree with me. E!ut I have found the hill system the 

 most satisfactory, not only here in my present location 

 in Oregon, but in several of the mid-western states as 

 well. The only variety with which I have not found the 

 hill system to be entirely satisfactory is the Excelsior, 

 although there may be many more, which must be de- 

 termined by experimenting with each variety separately. 



I find the first thing is to determine the variety best 

 adapted to the soil and climatic cnnditions. This will 

 ofttimes be fotuid to be a different \arietv from one which 

 may be grown very successfully only a few miles away. 

 Having done this. I put the plot into the very finest con- 

 dition physically : if the piece is already in so-called gar- 

 den condition, it saves much time, because this is the 

 shape it should be in before the plants are set. 



.As to fertilizer. I have not found it necessary to apply 

 anything of this kind, but have tried several experiments, 

 both with the commercial and barnyard varieties. On 

 my soil the results have been rather indifferent, as it 

 seems to be well adapted to the growth of the straw- 

 berry. It is a .sand to sandy loam and quite acid. 



It may be well here to add a word of caution to the 

 grower who lives in the alkaline soil districts, that if the 

 soil conditions are such as many I have known, it is not 

 at all practical to attempt to grow strawberries. 



There is not the slightest danger of getting the soil in 

 too fine a condition. In planting strawberries it is much 

 better and easier to take plenty of time to get the soil in 

 good condition and free from all weeds. 



In setting the plants, where a field is large, I have 

 found a plant setter to have many advantages, but the 

 average grower will be able to set all he will have by 

 hand, which, though slower, is as effective. 



In setting, trim both tops and roots, leaving not more 

 than three leaves, and cut the roots not longer than three 

 and one-half inches. Do not hesitate to prune the roots 

 back, as, by doing this, you are more certain to get re- 

 sults than if you had left the entire root on each plant. 



In setting, care must be taken to reef the crown slight- 

 ly above the top of the ground so it will not be covered 

 later when cultivating, and still the\' must not project 

 much above the level of the surface of the soil. Culti- 

 vation should begin at once, and be continued at least 

 once every two weeks until the weather puts a stop to all 

 growth in the autumn. 



During the first season all runners and blossoms must 

 be kept off the plants. This may necessitate cutting from 

 five to eight times during the season, but this is earily 

 done w'ith a common pair of old or discarded scissors, 

 which saves much stooping and is the best and most 

 rapid tool which we have ever used, though some growl- 

 ers insist that a knife is better. 



In the case of the strawberry when we cut off those 

 blossoms, stalks and runners, each time we force the 

 plant to start new crowns, imtil by the end of the season, 

 we have more crowns formed than had we let them go 

 to runners. Each of the buds formed is stronger, and 

 has more vitality than little weak jjlants can show. Be- 

 sides, we have the advantage of room for cultivation to 

 conserve the soil moisture. 



As soon as the soil is in condition the second season. 

 the cultivation is begun and continued until the fruit 

 sets. After this time the cultivation will cause too much 

 trouble from dirty fruit. 



.\s soon as a crop is harvested, cut the tops with a sharp 

 hoe, then rake them up and burn. Cut tops at once or 



get a short crop later. This is one of the secrets of 

 success with the hill system. 



.\fter years of practical experience, the growers of 

 this district have demonstrated that the best yields of 

 strawberries are obtained when the plants are set at three 

 and one-half to four feet by eighteen inches between 

 hills. This gives best yields, color and quality, and the 

 plants are much easier to handle when picking and cul- 

 tivating. 



W'hen picking strawberries for exhibition, we are care- 

 ful never to touch a berry with our fingers, and select 

 only the very smoothest and finest colored fruits, which 

 are of a medium, uniform size, and more particularly a 

 single shade of color. — From Fruit Grozver. 



CHINESE GRAFTED CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



ISuIletin 92 of the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant 

 Introduction reports on a species of Artemisia ( worm- 

 wood) from Feking, China, which is thus described: 



.A. biennial wormwood, occurring as a weed on all sorts 

 of dry, waste places. The Chinese utilize this plant as 

 a stock to graft Chrysanthemums upon, and claim that 

 "mums" thus grafted are earlier, need less water and no 

 manure, are more easily lifted and transplanted, and in 

 general require far less care than when on their own 

 roots. To obtain the best results the Chinese sow the 

 seed in late summer in well-drained beds. The seeds 

 genninate quickly, but the little plants make but very 

 small growth during the autumn and winter. When 

 spring is there, however, they develop with great vigor, 

 and in June they have well-formed stems. Now the 

 Chinese cut off the main stem an inch or so from the 

 ground and graft a Chrysanthemum scion upon it by the 

 ordinary cleft-graft method ; no wax is used, but onlv a 

 small strip of fiber, while the plants are shaded during 

 the first days. The stock and the scion soon unite and 

 continue to grow vigorously. On very strongly devel- 

 oped specimens of stock the main branches are often 

 used to insert on every one a different variety of Chrys- 

 anthemum or to train a beautiful "standard" tree of it, 

 and some of such specimens are fully as good as the 

 plants seen at home exhil)itions of "mums." The above 

 described method of grafting Chrysanthemums might 

 prove to be valuable for the sections of the United States 

 where the summers are somew-hat too short or the nights 

 too cool to rear the plants successfully out of doors, as. 

 for instance, in the more elevated parts of the Rocky 

 Alountain states. Care has to be taken in w'atering the 

 plants sparingly when lifted and planted in flower pots. 



JULY. 



Journe_\ing Time, if in thy power. 



Tell who stays the earth in motion, 



Formed life and li,ght, tree and flower. 



Timed the ebb and flow of ocean? 



Unlock for us Mystery's dark tower. 



Was germ or spirit life's origin ? 

 Lead Science in her struggling hour 



To solve the mystery of Creation. 



Thy great forebears no doubt could tell — 

 They saw this planet spick and span ; 



They witnessed, too, the sea's first swell. 

 And knew of Nature's secret plan. 



Ah ! Time, you've kept the secret well : 

 Yield now the long-hid truth to irian. 



—David S. Miller. 



